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Key Takeaways
- Verizon Communications will report first-quarter earnings on Monday, ahead of the opening bell.
- Analysts expect Verizon to report a year-over-year increase in revenue, but drops in income and earnings per share (EPS).
- Investors will be watching to see which direction Verizon’s broadband and wireless service subscriber numbers could trend over the rest of 2024.
Verizon Communications (VZ) is set to report first-quarter earnings before the opening bell Monday, as the telecommunications giant continues to work at expanding its 5G network and broadband internet businesses.
Analysts expect Verizon to post $33.2 billion in revenue, along with $4.61 billion in net income for diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.09, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Meeting those estimates would mean Verizon’s revenue increased from the first quarter of 2023, but income and EPS decreased year-over-year.
In the first quarter last year, Verizon posted $32.91 billion in revenue, and net income of $4.91 billion, which amounts to $1.17 per share, adding 437,000 broadband customers in a single quarter—the highest quarterly gain for this business metric that the company had posted in over a decade, according to Verizon.
Monday’s will be the first quarterly earnings report since Verizon posted a goodwill impairment charge of nearly $6 billion related to the reduction in value of its Verizon Business unit to finish 2023.
| Analyst Estimates for Q1 2024 | Q4 2023 | Q1 2023 | |
| Revenue | $33.2 billion | $35.13 billion | $32.91 billion |
| Diluted EPS | $1.09 | ($0.64) | $1.17 |
| Net Income | $4.61 billion | ($2.71 billion) | $4.91 billion |
Key Metric: Consumer Wireless Subscribers
Consumer wireless service has long been the cornerstone of Verizon’s business, and still makes up over half of Verizon’s revenue despite growing broadband internet and Verizon Business segments.
Revenue from Verizon’s wireless service was $18.9 billion in the first quarter of 2023, with the company estimating that the shutdown of its 3G network at the end of 2022 resulted in the loss of about 1.1 million retail connections, which caused a slight negative to the first quarter of 2023’s revenue.
Verizon is still in the midst of its 5G rollout, saying just over a year ago that its 5G Ultra Wideband mobile network was available to more than 200 million people across the U.S.
Business Spotlight: Broadband Service
Verizon added 413,000 broadband customers in the final quarter of 2023, the fifth consecutive quarter that the company said it had added more than 400,000 net customers.
The broadband portion of Verizon’s business had grown to a subscriber base greater than 3 million people by the end of 2023, and the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings report in January that it is on track to have more than 5 million broadband subscribers by the end of next year.
Verizon’s earnings will be followed by earnings reports from some of its biggest competitors, including AT&T (T), which reports Wednesday, April 24, and T-Mobile (TMUS), which reports Thursday, April 25.
Verizon shares have gained close to 7% year to date as of about 11 a.m. ET Friday.